Big Ears

Clockwork Angels by Rush (2012)

Rush turn back the clock, but only so far



I first became aware of Rush when Finding My Way (the opening track of their first S/T album) was played on The Old Grey Whistle Test's new year's eve compilation show in the mid seventies. In those days, Rush were very Led Zeppelinesque, self-produced and comprised Geddy Lee on lead vocals/bass, guitarist Alex Lifeson and the late John Rutsy on drums. Fly by Night followed in 1975, with production by Terry Brown and Neil Peart replacing Rutsy on drums as well as writing the lyrics. By-Tor and the Snow Dog was a lengthy epic which, along with Bastille Day on the third album Caress of Steel (1976), pointed the way to the band's magnum opus, 2112 (also 1976) with its complex 20-minute title track (and much less of the Led Zeppelin influence). 2112, while still ranking as Rush's finest achievement, was the first part of a solid trilogy of albums, recorded over three successive years, also consisting of A Farewell to Kings in 1977 and Hemispheres in 1978. It was the middle album of the three which formed my next experience of Rush, as a show from the AFTK tour, at Hammersmith Odeon on 20th February 1978, was broadcast by Tommy Vance on his BBC Radio One Friday Rock Show (it became available in 1998 as the third part of the Different Stages 3x CD collection). Since then, Rush have released the highly rated, but repetitive, Moving Pictures, in 1981, and a string of albums throughout the ninteen-eighties, with shorter, more keyboard-orientated songs. Meanwhile, producers like Peter Collins and Rupert Hine have come and gone.

By the nineteen-nineties, Rush fans had divided into two camps: those who wanted a return to Terry Brown, the long tracks and Alex Lifeson to the fore, and those who felt the band had progressed. A hiatus was broken by a comeback album with a surprising choice of producer, Nick Raskulinecz, who had formerly worked with The Foo Fighters. Disappointingly, Snakes and Arrows (2007) was a dreary and uninteresting collection, but when a follow-up was mooted, Alex Lifeson indicated that the band would like to retain the services of Raskulinecz. In 2010, Caravan and BU2B were released as a download single, albeit well in advance, while stories of a concept album circulated. Clockwork Angels appeared in 2012 with a Hugh Syme album cover showing a clock face with the hands pointing at the hours and minutes in alchemical symbols. If you read the time in the twenty-four hour clock it says 21:12! We are told the concept is the story of a young man's travels through a world in the steampunk genre - a style of fantasy/ sci-fi, developed in the nineteen-ninties, in which steam power is used as part of the setting. Dave Everley in Classic Rock magazine (July 2012) has suggested that Voltaire's Candide (France 1759), an episodic quest for El Dorado, is also an influence.

Caravan, the first single, opens the album, while introducing the concept 'journey', and it has all the Rush elements: Geddy Lee's heavy Rickenbacker bass, Neil Peart's dynamic drumming and Alex Lifeson's restrained guitar. Commerciality comes from Peart's hook, "I can't stop thinking big, I can't stop thinking big", but it is riff-based and there is a slick instrumental taster towards the end (reminiscent of Drama-era Yes). BU2B [brought up to believe] continues the heavy bass riffing and introduces some space-rock keyboards. Peart's lyrics clearly describe an imaginary world of steam-liners and caravans, while Russian right-wing author Ayn Rand's curious work may have an enduring influence with, "Believe in what we're told/ Until our final breath."

By the title track, the first phase of the album is beginning to sound like a Geddy Lee solo work, with his voice, bass and keyboards dominating, this time adding what sounds like a harmonica microphone and phasing. Lifeson's guitar promises much, without cutting loose, and Peart's lyrics draw the landscape while remaining characteristically obtuse. At seven-and-a-half minutes, Clockwork Angels is the longest track on the album and it twists & turns as befits the imagery, "Clockwork angels, spread their arms and sing/ Synchronized and graceful, they move like living things." In contrast, The Anarchist is tight, with strings and more vocal effects, as Lee repeats, "A missing part of me that goes around me like a cage." A strong piece is Carnies, with sound effects, an Eastern feel and a toe-tapping riff. Light and shade is provided by Halo Effect, which has a slow, string-driven Led Zeppelin-feel.

Phase two of the album opens appropriately with the catchy Seven Cities of Gold, carried along with another great riff (again from Yes's Drama-era). Neil Peart's words conjure excellent imagery, "Seven Cities of Gold/ Glowing in my dreams, like hallucinations." His drumming is tasteful and avoids the ubiquitous double kick drum technique. What is more, Alex Lifeson almost solos. The Wreckers (single number three) has a chiming Searchers intro/ motif and is gently melodic. Lifeson plays off the orchestra, but fades! He really is the most frustrating guitarist. Nevertheless, Peart's lyrics are superbly atmospheric as in, "The breakers roar/ On an unseen shore/ In the teeth of a hurricane/ Oh, we struggle in vain." Without hesitation or delay is the dictionary definition of headlong and it fits the Headlong Flight (single number two as a radio edit, but full-length here), which powers into some funky guitar from Lifeson a-la Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, including a Hendrix-style solo. It was a long-time coming! Headlong Fight is choc-full of ideas, but listening to Geddy Lee's yodelling vocals is becoming hard work. A bit more variety and freneticism is needed in his singing.

BU2B2, with Lee accompanied by cello, is quiet, and, at just under a minute-and-a-half, is the shortest track on Clockwork Angels. Lee partly redeems himself by effectively providing both call and response on Wish Them Well. My favourite track on the album is the thoughtful The Garden, which closes the album and reminds me of the melancholic Rain's Embrace from Ukraine. Although I know little about the background, Peart's ever-obscure, but marvellously effective, lyrics are a revelation.

When I first heard Clockwork Angels, it seemed an improvement on Snakes and Arrows, but, besides Geddy Lee, another commanding presence on the album is Nick Raskulinecz's grungy and, dare I say, heavy-handed production, which does not match the complexity and detail of the music. Although I have to admit to warming to the collection of songs and musicianship, there is something missing; namely, more guitar from Alex Lifeson and a bit more anger in Lee's vocals. Clarity and sharpness from the return of Terry Brown or Peter Collins would also be welcome. Clockwork Angels has been played on my laptop and Walkman constantly for the last few weeks, but whether or not it is an album to which I will return, time will tell.




Clock Work Angels Tracklist

1. Caravan (5:40)
2. BU2B (5:10)
3. Clockwork Angels (7:31)
4. The Anarchist (6:52)
5. Carnies (4:52)
6. Halo Effect (3:14)
7. Seven Cities of Gold (6:32)
8. The Wreckers (5:01)
9. Headlong Flight (7:20)
10. BU2B2 (1:28)
11. Wish Them Well (5:25)
12. The Garden (6:59)

Lyrics by Neil Peart
Music by Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson

Total length: 1:06:04


Clockwork Angels Lineup

Geddy Lee: Bass, bass pedals, vocals, synthesizers
Alex Lifeson: Electric guitar, acoustic guitar, twelve-string guitar, additional Keyboards
Neil Peart: Drums and percussion

David Campbell: String arrangement and conducting
Jason Sniderman: Piano & additional keyboards

Produced by Rush and Nick Raskulinecz


Review written in July 2012

Unknown Soldier

Nice review, but I still haven't heard Snakes and Ladders, but I remember being let down by Vapour Trails, the production was just so loud, in relation to the singing and playing.

It's good to hear your experiences about these bands when you heard them for the first time back in the 1970s. Most of these bands I heard about in the 1980s. In the case of Rush, I always as a kid thought they must've been a heavy metal band Because at the time as you probably know, most headbangers would be walking around with denim jackets with those sew-in type badges covering the jacket with stuff like Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Whitesnake and the Scorpions etc, and quite often I'd see a Rush badge. So when I first heard a Rush song around 83/84 It was "The Body Electric" from Grace Under Pressure and I quickly realized that they weren't a metal band. I much later discovered about their hard rock and progressive roots.

__________________
Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Trollheart

Ah, tis well I remember it! Jackets held together by willpower and about a hundred metal badges and cloth patches! Those were the days!

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Big Ears

Captain Beyond by Captain Beyond (Capricorn 1972)

Dancing madly backwards (on a sea of air)



Captain Beyond Tracklist

All songs written by Rod Evans and Bobby Caldwell

Vinyl Album Side One
1. Dancing Madly Backwards (On a Sea of Air) 4:08
2. Armworth 2:50
3. Myopic Void 3:37

4. Mesmerization Eclipse 3:45

5. Raging River of Fear 3:48

Vinyl Album Side Two
6. Thousand Days of Yesterdays (Intro) 1:30
7. Frozen Over 3:55
8. Thousand Days of Yesterdays (Time Since Come and Gone) 4:05

9. I Can't Feel Nothin' (Part 1) 3:07
10. As the Moon Speaks (To the Waves of the Sea) 2:30
11. Astral Lady 1:15
12. As the Moon Speaks (Return) 2:16
13. I Can't Feel Nothin' (Part 2) 1:11

Important note: Tracks 1-3, 6-8 and 9-13 segue together


Captain Beyond Lineup

Rod Evans: Vocals
Larry 'Rhino' Reinhardt: Guitars
Lee Dorman: Bass guitar, piano, Hammond organ, vocals
Bobby Caldwell: Drums, percussion, Hammond organ, bells, vibraphone, vocals


Among my memories of the summer 1972 are a string of great rock hit singles: School's Out by Alice Cooper, Silver Machine by Hawkwind, All the Young Dudes by Mott the Hoople, Hold Your Head Up by Argent and Standing in the Road by Blackfoot Sue. Album releases were equally strong and included Close to the Edge by Yes, The Magician's Birthday by Uriah Heep, Machine Head and Made in Japan by Deep Purple . . . and Captain Beyond by Captain Beyond. The latter initially came to my attention when a friend of mine, who must have seen them live, bought the first album on its release. I remember his obsession being such that he burned the band's name on his mother's garden gate, with a magnifying glass - in a series of dots!

Captain Beyond was formed when singer Rod Evans, from Deep Purple, joined guitarist Larry 'Rhino' Reinhardt and bassist Lee Dorman, both from Iron Butterfly. They were augmented by Bobby Caldwell on drums and Lewie Gold on keyboards, although the latter left, due to personal reasons, before the first self-titled album was recorded. As part of a BBC Radio One interview, in the early nineteen-eighties, Richie Blackmore claimed Evans was sacked from Purple because he was a crooner and the guitarist had wanted a screamer like Ian Gillan. Deep Purple's loss was Captain Beyond's gain, but, although both bands made exceptional albums, it was Purple who went on to hard rock superstardom, while Captain Beyond slipped into obscurity. Captain Beyond proved to be very influential, but their record sales never reflected the considerable musical achievement of the debut album.




Captain Beyond (the album) has an unusual organisation in the tracklisting; the first three tracks are segued together, as are six to eight and nine to thirteen, but these 'sequences' are without collective titles. Tracks four and five stand alone. Captain Beyond begins with arguably their best known track, Dancing Madly Backwards (On a Sea of Air), which opens with drums and Rod Evans' velvet voice. The pace increases with a driving bass riff and guitar solo; it is revealed that Evans can growl, if necessary, without being strained. The track is rightly famous because it is a masterpiece of restraint and heavy rock subtlety, with lyrics that are wistful and ethereal. It is not flippant and sets an effective precedent for the remainder of the album. As Dancing Madly Backwards closes on an almost jazz-rock pattern, Armworth starts with sprightly guitar and vocals, mixed with gentle harmonies. If the guitar sounds familiar, it was borrowed as the main feature of Martha and the Muffins' Echo Beach. Myopic Void begins with a space-y feel, but is a strongly percussive piece, with military drumming, and just as you begin to think it is too long, Dancing Madly Backwards (On a Sea of Air) reappears with sparkling guitar work. Thus ends the first sequence.

Mesmerization Eclipse is heavy and strident, with the vocals following the guitars and revelatory rolling drums from Caldwell. Ted Nugent and Derek Holmes must have been aware of this song when they made the first Ted Nugent album. There are changes of riff and a repeated phrase before the fadeout. Likewise, Badlands' were inspired by Raging River of Fear when they recorded the outstanding The River. Baker Gurvitz Army may have listened to it too. Raging River of Fear has a bluesy guitar and Voodoo Chile-like riff, while the mention of a battlefield recalls ELP's Tarkus (Eddie Offord produced Tarkus and although BGA's production is credited to Paul Gurvitz, some believe Offord was responsible).

Acoustic guitar and cymbals lead us into the first quiet track on the album (and the second 'sequence'), Thousand Days of Yesterdays (Intro). When the whispered vocals enter, it has an eerie feel, redolent of Faith No More's equally diverse, but much later The Real Thing album. Just as you expect this to segue into something menacing, it develops the catchy riff of Frozen Over. Thousand Days of Yesterdays (Time Since Come and Gone) has excellent lead vocals and open chords, later used by Genesis and Gordon Giltrap, and ends on scat singing with harmonies - giving it a jazz-rock feel. With editting, it could have provided a much-needed hit single. Frozen Over, like Raging River of Fear, has a heavy riff and the voice follows the guitar.

I Can't Feel Nothin' Pt. 1, of the third and final 'sequence', has sparse guitar notes with sustain, but closes on a funky riff - variety being the spice of life, where Captain Beyond are concerned. Throughout the album, Larry Reinhardt's playing is consistently tasteful, with excellent solos, and appropriate to the song. Indeed, the instruments in the band are constantly together, without any 'showing-off'. With other vocalists, spoken word songs are a poor substitute for singing, but Rod Evans' performance on As the Moon Speaks (to the Waves) adds full dramatic effect to the final sequence. Astral Lady, at only sixteen seconds, is a linking guitar instrumental to the beautiful As the Moon Speaks (Return), which has delicate Beatles-like harmonies, phased voices and superb vocals from the sadly underrated Evans. Curiously, the track closes on a percussive Santana-like passage, pointing to the band's future direction, before Captain Beyond bow out on an abrupt I Can't Feel Nothin' Pt. 2.

In short, Captain Beyond is a glorious album, loved by fans, but ignored by the media. It was the product of the chemistry between all four members, and when drummer and co-songwriter Bobby Caldwell departed, soon after, to join Rick Derringer, the magic went with him. Like a spectacular firework, they lit up the sky and were gone. If I have a criticism of the album, it is that the production is dated and, with its combination of echo-y vocals and Fifth Dimension harmonies, sounded this way even in 1972! Caldwell was briefly replaced by Brian Glascock on drums, while Reese Wynans and Guille Garcia joined on keyboards and congas respectively. Glascock was subsequently sacked, Marty Rodriguez was brought in on drums and this six-man lineup recorded the group's second album, Sufficiently Breathless (in a different style). With the lack of cohesion, tension during the recording led Rod Evans to quit and the band imploded. The original lineup reformed in 1973, for a US tour, but split at the end of the year. Various versions of Captain Beyond were formed in the intervening years, until Larry Reinhardt developed cancer in 2003. Following treatment, he continued to perform until late 2011, when he again fell ill. He sadly died on 2nd January 2012. What of Rod Evans? Well, that's another story . . .


There is an interesting rock family tree for Captain Beyond on: Rod Evans. Captain Beyond History

Unknown Soldier

Great review of this album and maybe you'll do one of Sufficiently Breathless as well. I always wondered what happened to Rod Evans and was shocked to see that he was last believed to be working as a medical professional in San Francisco, a far cry from his Slough days.

__________________
Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Big Ears

Thanks US and I might get round to Sufficiently Breathless. The story of Rod Evans, the dubiously reformed 'Deep Purple' and the subsequent court case is a real tragedy.

Big Ears

Heaven and Hell — The Devil You Know (2009)
Limited Edition with Bonuses

Onward and upward








The Devil You Know Tracklist

01. Atom And Evil
02. Fear
03. Bible Black
04. Double The Pain
05. Rock And Roll Angel
06. The Turn Of The Screw
07. Eating The Cannibals
08. Follow The Tears
09. Neverwhere
10. Breaking Into Heaven
11. Shadow Of The Wind (Bonus)
12. Ear In The Wall (Bonus)
13. The Devil Cried (Bonus)


The Heaven and Hell Lineup

Ronnie James Dio: Vocals, keyboards
Tony Iommi: Guitar
Geezer Butler: Bass guitar
Vinny Appice: Drums, percussion


Despite an illustrious past, some bands release an album which can point to an even rosier future - which they never see. An example is The Beatles with Abbey Road, on which they decided to go out on a high, but, had they decided to stay together, the next album could have been amazing. Heaven and Hell's studio album, The Devil you Know, released on 28th April 2009, is another case in point, ironically from the band regarded as The Beatles of heavy rock. Like The Beatles, Heaven and Hell's past is a chequered one. Ostensibly, they are the reformation of the Black Sabbath lineup for Mob Rules (1981) and Dehumaniser (1992) of: Ronnie James Dio on vocals, Vinny Appice on drums, Tony Iommi on guitar and Geezer Butler on bass. They were renamed Heaven and Hell, after the first Dio-with-Sabbath album, Heaven and Hell (1980), as original singer Ozzy Osbourne had filed a suit, in a New York federal court on 26th May 2009, to establish rights to the Black Sabbath name.

As if revitalised by the new name, after decades of uncertainty and instability, the band seemed to set out to make the heaviest album possible as evidenced by the opening track, Atom and Evil. With an enormous sound, H&H are here to break down your door and run off with your children. Tony Iommi adds a towering guitar solo to Ronnie James Dio's enigmatic lyrics, "Falling's easy/ Rising will never be/ So we must rise together/ Here are the changes/ Powerful harmony/ But then there's no forever." Fear is even heavier, with a great riff and Dioharmonising/multitracking his voice on the word 'fear'. Vinny Appice's drumming is excellent and, although he was in the band as Dio's friend, he works well with Iommi and they should have done more together. An Alice Cooper influence in the lyrics, brings to mind Dio's version of Welcome to My Nightmare for the Humanary Stew: A Tribute to Alice Cooper project (1999).

Bible Black was released as a single at the time of the album. It begins with a gentle acoustic guitar, joined by Iommi's characteristic 'in the distance' Gibson and a quiet vocal. But it soon becomes angry. Dio was never averse to a King Crimson reference, as when he used the 21st Century Schizoid Man riff for the vocal arrangement in Jesus, Mary and the Holy Ghost on Strange Highways (1993). The Devil you Know is getting heavier by degrees. Geezer Butler's fantastic bass and Iommi's solo are reminiscent of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973). With hindsight a number of songs, could relate to Dio's illness at the time the album was recorded; Double the Pain may be about his own physical pain. Dare I say it, Rock and Roll Angel is a touch cliched? "You've been wishing for the magic sign/ Here's where you will find your Rock and Roll Angel." There are references to Dio's former collaborator, Ritchie Blackmore, with, "Perfect strangers in the dark/ Waiting for their lives to start"; more of Iommi's distant-sounding guitar; and the acoustic guitar sounding a bit like David Gilmour and Pink Floyd.

We are on safer ground when the full-on heaviness of The Turn of the Screw kicks in. Could it be mere coincidence that Geezer's strident bass is a reminder of Lemmy's on Ozzy Osbourne's version of Hellraiser? Yet another excellent guitar solo shows that, unlike in the latter days of the Ozzy-era Sabbath, Iommi is inspired and has no shortage. "Here comes another," provides a link between the tracks as it refers back to the spider in Atom and Evil. Eating the Cannibals is a 'turning the tables' lyric and is fast paced, with more symbiotic work from Butler/Iommi. Follow the Tears has sinister keyboards with a fantastically heavy riff, reminiscent of Y&T's Black Tiger, and may be more about Dio's own pain. With Neverwhere, Dio reveals he is the original goth. It is instrumentally sprightly, rather like the Tony Martin-era Sabbath. Ronnie James Dio's final track with Black Sabbath is Breaking into Heaven. As the choir builds towards the end, his last line and farewell is appropriately, "And we're breaking into heaven."

There are three bonuses on the limited edition. Shadow of the Wind is more sludge than the sludge bands Heaven and Hell influenced. It is pervaded by familiar motifs, such as "Dark over the sun," and more spiders. We get yet another terrific guitar solo, but a slow vocal and instrumental passage at the end, replete with spooky drums, keeps the track phenomenally heavy. Dio declares, "I'm alive, I belong, I'll be back/ It's a half truth, still a whole lie." Ear in the Wall is a creepy Alice Cooper-inspired song, with a funky instrumental passage and a slick rock 'n' roll feel. Tony Iommi's solo on The Devil Cried sounds like there are ten Iommis. It is reminiscent of Rainbow's Man On the Silver Mountain, one of Dio's finest moments. The iTunes download has two live tracks, instead of the aforementioned bonuses; the first is a performance of I, on which Dio sounds more like a heavy rock Ian Gillan than his own operatic self. It possibly contains one of the best Iommi solos ever. Dio would introduce the second live track, Die Young, by saying, "We don't want this to happen to you"; his audience could not have foreseen that it would tragically happen to him. Die Young opens with a staggeringly good Iommi solo, which serves as a fitting swansong to the singer, because, in November 2009, Ronnie James Dio was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He died from the illness on 16th May 2010 at 7:45am . . .

. . . And then he was gone.

Standout tracks for me are of course the heaviest, such as Fear, Bible Black and Turn of the Screw. If I have any criticisms, and they are minor, it is that some of the material sounds a bit same-y. You could take the lyrics to Double the Pain and Follow the Tears and exchange them without too much trouble. Understandably, Dio wanted to write his own fantasy-based lyrics, but, although they are strong, some of Geezer Butler's more down to earth (if that is not an oxymoron) ideas may have provided a bit more variety. Strength also lies in the studio bonuses, but they are repetitive and whether they are essential to the balance of the album is debatable. They are certainly of interest as The Devil Cried was one of the first recorded tracks and was released as a promotional single. Credit should go to Dio, Iommi, Butler, Mike Exeter and the technical team for the production, which has clarity, sharpness and the ability to bludgeon your head. Tony Iommi told Billboard, in July 2008, that the material was "Really good, pretty powerful." He was right. He also explained, "We go onward and upward . . . Instead of going backwards in time, we're going forward and coming up with new stuff." How sad that Heaven and Hell could not have gone 'onward and upward' for a while longer.



Heaven and Hell Discography


Heaven and Hell as Black Sabbath

1980 Heaven and Hell
1981 Mob Rules
1982 Live Evil
1992 Dehumanizer
2007 The Dio Years - compilation with new tracks
2007 Live at Hammersmith Odeon - limited edition recorded in 1981 and 1982
2010 Mob Rules Deluxe Edition 2xCD - second disc is the above Live at Hammersmith Odeon

As Heaven and Hell

2007 Live from Radio City Music Hall
2009 The Devil You Know
2010 Neon Nights: 30 Years of Heaven & Hell - Live in Europe (US) Live in Wacken (Europe)


Written in September 2012

Big Ears

The Groundhogs Best 1969-72 (1974)

Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs!





Tracklist

Side One
1. Groundhog (5:48)
From Split 1971
2. Strange Town (4:19)
From Thank Christ For the Bomb 1970
3. Bog Roll Blues (3:11)
From Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs 1972
4. You Had a Lesson (5:56)
From Hogwash 1972

Side Two
5. Express Man (3:57)
From Blues Obituary 1969
6. Eccentric Man (4:57)
From Thank Christ For the Bomb 1970
7. Earth Is Not Room Enough (4:49)
From Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs 1972
8. BDD (3:47)
From Blues Obituary 1969
9. Split, Pt. 1 (4:29)
From Split 1971

Side Three
10. Cherry Red (5:46)
From Split 1971
11. Mistreated (4:03)
From Blues Obituary 1969
12. 3744 James Road (7:19)
From Hogwash 1972
13. Soldier (4:51)
From Thank Christ For the Bomb 1970

Side Four
14. Sad Is the Hunter (5:21)
From Hogwash 1972
15. Garden (5:24)
From Thank Christ For the Bomb 1970
16. Split, Pt. 4 (5:50)
From Split 1971
17. Amazing Grace (2:22) John Newton
From Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs 1972


'Clapton is God' read the graffiti on a fence in a famous photograph from Cream's heyday. But what vandals and journalists alike overlooked was that the Holy Trinity, in the context of British blues-rock guitarists, was completed by the Hendrix-inspired maestro Robin Trower and the technical polymath Tony TS McPhee. Emerging from the shadow of the keyboard-dominated Procol Harum, albeit on their 1976 masterpiece, A Whiter Shade of Pale, Trower joined forces with Jim Dewar and made four sparkling blues-rock albums. Tony McPhee was, like Clapton, a bluesman from the outset, but unlike Trower, had more than one dimension to his playing. Added to this was a profound social conscience, a willingness to experiment with electronics and the ability to sing, play (various instruments), write, produce and engineer. His outlet was The Groundhogs who became an underground cult amidst the blues-inspired heavy rock bands of the mid-seventies.

The Groundhogs were formed in New Cross, London, in 1962, as part of the British blues boom of the period, when former telephone engineer Tony McPhee joined brothers Peter and John Cruickshank - who were both born in in Calcutta, West Bengal. Named after a John Lee Hooker song, 'Groundhog's Blues', they backed the Mississippi bluesman on his 1964 UK tour. The Groundhogs issued their first record, 'Shake It' b/w 'Rock Me' as a 7" 45rpm single on the Interphon label in January 1965. Their first album, Scratchin' the Surface, was not released until November 1968 with the lineup of: Tony McPhee on vocals and guitar, Pete Cruickshank on bass, Ken Pustelnik on drums and Steve Rye on harmonica. Steve Rye left soon after to become a geology lecturer, but sadly died in London on 14th July 1992.

Blues Obituary (September 1969) was appropriately named, being recorded by The Groundhogs as a three-piece with more of a heavy rock approach. The second single 'BDD' [Blind, Deaf & Dumb] failed to chart in the UK, although it reached number one in Lebanon! However, the group's following albums: Thank Christ For The Bomb (May 1970), Split (March 1971) and Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs (March 1972), all made the UK top ten. Thank Christ For the Bomb was concerned with McPhee's anti-war beliefs and the concept of alienation, the latter of which was more fully developed on their most successful and arguably best album. Split was about madness, ie. split personality, and showcased Tony McPhee's outstanding guitar technique, while moving the band even further from the traditional blues towards a more fully formed hard-rock. Side One has four tracks, Split Parts One to Four, that are of course thematically linked. The second side has four separate tracks. Split reached number 5, spending 27 weeks in the chart and achieving gold record status, while a single from the album, 'Cherry Red', was featured on BBC 1's Top of the Pops TV programme on 22nd April 1971.

At the request of Mick Jagger, The Groundhogs supported The Rolling Stones on the latter's 1971 British tour and released an album , Live at Leeds, recorded at the university. Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs was the band's weakest album of the era and included Tony McPhee's experimentation on mellotron. For Hogwash (November 1972), drummer Ken Pustelnik was replaced by Clive Brooks, from the progressive rock band Egg, which ironically, gave the band an even heavier edge. June 1974's excellent album Solid saw a final return to the charts in the same year. Tony McPhee then disbanded the classic three-piece lineup in 1976 and re-emerged with a new band, including a second guitarist, Dave Wellbelove, Martin Kent on bass and the late Mick Cook on drums. This version of the group recorded two fine albums in Crosscut Saw (February 1976) and Black Diamond (October 1976, with Rick Adams replacing Wellbelove), as well as touring the UK, before themselves being dismantled. At around this time McPhee played a radio-contolled guitar, that he could play from the changing room, before appearing on stage. A short-lived Terraplane project, in 1982, featured McPhee with the late Wilgar Campbell, from Rory Gallagher's band, on drums and Alan Fish on bass.

The Groundhogs continued as a live act, rather than releasing new albums, with Tony McPhee admitting that he struggled to find enough new material to fill a 79-minute CD as many expected. In 2002, manager Roy Fisher put together a short-lived original lineup, including Cruickshank and Pustelnik, to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the band. McPhee departed, leaving Cruickshank and Pustelnik to continue as The Groundhogs Rhythm Section, with invited frontmen such as Eddie Martin. Tony McPhee formed a new Groundhogs in 2007, with long-time bassist Dave Anderson (ex-Hawkwind) and Marco Anderson on drums. This incarnation toured England in 2008 with Dutch progressive rock band Focus and Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash. The 2009 lineup of Tony McPhee's Groundhogs comprised McPhee, Anderson and the returning Mick Jones on drums. The Groundhogs Rhythm Section's latest recruits, Bob Bowles on guitar & vocals and Jon Buckett on guitars, keyboards & vocals, joined in February 2011. As of last year, the new Groundhogs' lineup consists of McPhee, Anderson, Joanna Deacon (vocals) and Carl Stokes (drums).

The Groundhogs' Best 1969-72 was released as a double vinyl LP in 1974, coinciding with Solid, and spans the five post-Scratching the Surface albums for United Artists: Blues Obituary, Thank Christ for the Bomb, Split, Who Will Save the World? and Hogwash. Groundhog from Split is a solo blues effort, with metronomic timing, from Tony McPhee. He was to repeat this style on his solo album, The Two Sides of Tony TS McPhee (1973), which combined traditional blues with the synthesizer-laden epic, The Hunt. The compilation's first band track is the echo-heavy Strange Town from Thank Christ For the Bomb - an album that sounded dated by the mid-seventies, but now has a lightness of touch and dexterity. McPhee, Cruickshank and Pustelnik had played together in the clubs, night after night, since the early sixties, and epitomised the cohesiveness of many seventies hard rock bands. Strange Town is described by McPhee, in his sleeve notes for Thank Christ, as being about 'alienness of a community'. On first hearing, Bog Roll Blues seems like a Who Will Save the World? filler, but is actually a cleverly written and uncharacteristically chugging piece. Hogwash is possibly The Groundhogs' heaviest album, the other being Solid, but You Had a Lesson features a mellotron and shows that McPhee's solos on the instrument are rather like those of his on guitar.

Express Man is from Blues Obituary - their first heavy rock album, but with various nods to the blues past. Be warned, however, as this essential track is ommitted from CD versions of the compilation. McPhee makes a rallying call for the Eccentric Man, from Thank Christ, continuing the album's theme of 'alienation', this time of the individual. He was to later unify the ideas of madness in the relatively lengthy concept of Split Parts One to Four. For Who Will Save the World? McPhee began experimenting with synthesizers and mellotron, and, while interesting, it undoubtedly diluted his guitar playing, as on the ambitious Earth is Not Room Enough. McPhee was not to successfully integrate keyboards until the next album, Hogwash. BDD [Blind, Deaf, Dumb] is Blues Obituary's best track, combining a simple lyrical idea with a catchy hook and a memorable guitar solo. As always, the front man's lyrics are far from predictable, "I shouted and I screamed, till my face turned shades of blue." Never was Tony McPhee's guitar playing more refined and imaginative than on The Groundhog's magnum opus, Split. It is difficult to hear that album's opener in isolation from Split Part Two (or Part Four removed from Three, as it is later in the compilation), but it makes a fitting closer for the first vinyl album.


Written in September 2012

Big Ears

The Groundhogs Best 1969-72 (1974)

Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs! Continued





If Split is The Groundhogs' best known album, Cherry Red is probably their most famous track. It has all of Tony McPhee's guitar-playing trademarks, such as tapping the top of one string, striking the start of the strings with a plectrum and playing slow notes or chords in conjunction with his incredible shredding. Never known for one particular effect, he uses sustain, fuzz and wah-wah throughout all four Split pieces; here on Cherry Red he brings them all together on a single track. Mistreated is another simple but tightly effective piece from Blues Obituary. A lengthy epic comes in the form of 3744 James Road, from Hogwash, which gives the band time and space to improvise. One of the greatest riffs of the seventies, to rank alongside Black Sabbath's NIB, is that of Soldier (alienness of a country), an anti-war tract from Thank Christ, which glides into the consciousness and explodes in a frenzy of band playing and guitar soloing.

As guitarist, frontman, songwriter and producer, Groundhogs Best 1969-72 is certainly Tony McPhee's show, but he could have achieved none of this without the Pete Cruickshank/ Ken Pustelnik, or Clive Brooks, rhythm section. Cruickshank was never better showcased than on Sad is the Hunter, to which he contributes a simple riff, but begins by playing slowly and becoming progressively faster as McPhee adds slide guitar. Again, as with The Hunt from his solo album, McPhee expounds his anti-bloodsport sentiments, "Sport is the label for this depravity, a distortion of the need to feed/ Innocents should never have to suffer with their lives for the pleasure of the few." There is more on alienation in the sophisticated Garden from Thank Christ for the Bomb, while Split Part Four shows McPhee's skill with the wah-wah. A guitar version of John Newton's Amazing Grace is a brave, but unsuccessful, experiment that gives the impression of being padding on Who Will Save the World? It is a shame that such a strong collection, spread over two vinyl albums, closes on a filler, but with the repeat option on CD/MP3 players, Amazing Grace is easy to ignore. Like Express Man, Amazing Grace is omitted from CD versions of the collection, but is far less essential.

Like Atomic Rooster's Assortment, Groundhogs Best 1969-72 is that rare object, an excellent compilation which ranks with the band's classic albums from which it draws. As an introduction to The Groundhogs it is vital, unless you buy the five United Artists albums: Blues Obituary, Thank Christ for the Bomb, Split, Who Will Save the World? and Hogwash. Solid is superb and ranks with the aforementioned albums. If you are a committed fan, The Two Sides of Tony TS McPhee, BBC Radio One Live in Concert (1994, on Windrush) and Crosscut Saw are only a notch down from the best. Black Diamond is by no means disappointing.


Lineup

Tony McPhee: Guitars, vocals
Pete Cruickshank: Bass
Ken Pustelnik: Drums
Clive Brooks: Drums

Big Ears

Status Quo - Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon (1970)

No longer maintaining the status quo





Tracklist

1. Spinning Wheel Blues (Rossi/Young) 3:21 (listed as Spinning Wheel on the original LP)
2. Daughter (Lancaster) 3:01
3. Everything (Rossi/Parfitt) 2:36
4. Shy Fly (Rossi/Young) 3:49
5. April, Spring, Summer and Wednesdays (Rossi/Young) 4:12
6. Junior's Wailing (White/Pugh) 3:33
7. Lakky Lady (Rossi/Parfitt) 3:14
8. Need Your Love (Rossi/Young) 4:46
9. Lazy Poker Blues (Green/Adams) 3:37
10. Is it Really Me/Gotta Go Home (Lancaster) 9:34


2000 Castle Music Remaster Bonus Tracks

11. In My Chair (Alternate Mix) (Rossi/Parfitt) 3:34
12. Gerdundula (Alternate Mix) (Manston/James, a pseudonym for Rossi/Young) 4:10
13. Down The Dustpipe (Alternate Mix) (Grossmann) 2:08
14. Junior's Wailing (Alternate Mix) (White/Pugh) 3:35


2003 Reissue Bonus Tracks

11. Is it Really Me/Gotta Go Home (Early Mix) (Lancaster)
12. Daughter (Early Mix) (Lancaster)
13. Down the Dustpipe (Grossmann)
14. In My Chair (Rossi/Parfitt)
15. Gerdundula (Manston/James, a pseudonym for Rossi/Young)
16. Down the Dustpipe (BBC Session) (Grossmann)
17. Junior's Wailing (BBC Session) (White/Pugh)
18. Spinning Wheel Blues (BBC Session) (Rossi/Young)
19. Need Your Love (BBC Session) (Rossi/Young)
20. In My Chair (1975 Promo Flexi) (Rossi/Parfitt)


Every now and again a comercially successful band changes their style to become an even more auspicious band: following the drug-induced illness of Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd graduated from psychedelic cult to progressive giants; after a breakup, progressive mainstays Yes regrouped as a crossover of rock and dance music; tired of a lack of control, Sweet switched from bubblegum to intelligent rock with the Level Headed album; and so it was for hitmakers Status Quo, when their first two albums failed to capitalise on the success of the singles. Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon is their third album and the first to leave behind their early psychedelic approach in order to introduce the blues rock/ boogie style which remains their signature.

Spinning Wheel Blues is the prototype for most of the material to come, a chugging blues which is unpretentious and without any histrionics. The guitar solos are excellent as always and there is a harmonica solo for good measure. Spinning Wheel Blues is, to my knowledge, the first Francis Rossi collaboration with former roadie Bob Young. Daughter hits the ground running with a great riff, which could have been used on any of their future classic albums, but the vocals are a disconcerting throwback to the psychedelia past with off-key whining and echo. Roy Lynne adds a keyboard solo to increase the oldtime feel. Everything continues the psychedelia, being a quiet introspective track, with acoustic guitar and cello. It is carefully sung and reminds of the Sgt Pepper-era Beatles or Robin Gibb-led Bee Gees. Shy Fly has a silly lyric and a throwaway melody, although it proves that original drummer John Coghlan was their best, with perhaps the exception of Jeff Rich from Stretch. However, April, Spring, Summer and Wednesdays, another Rossi/ Young song, reintroduces the heavy rock riffs. Keiran White and Martin Pugh's Junior's Wailing is full on blues rock (a Steamhammer cover).

Lakky Lady with acoustic guitar, bongos, maracas and weird lyrics would be an oddity at any stage in the band's career, with, 'When she wakes in the morning and her figure tells no lies/ My eyesight is broken when the light shines on her thighs.' The subject matter is perhaps more fully developed in the brilliant Big Fat Momma on their best album, Piledriver. Need Your Love (Rossi/Young) with its distorted bass, guitar riffs and changes of pace reminds me of Someone's Learning on the next album, Dog of Two Head, and demonstrates how Alan Lancaster was the backbone of Quo at this stage in their development. Status Quo always had a good ear for a song and Peter Green and Clifford Evans' Lazy Poker Blues (a Fleetwood Mac cover), with its shambolic introduction, is no exception. Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon closes on Alan Lancaster's nine-and-a-half minute epic, Is It Really Me/Gotta Go Home, with more heavy riffs, harmonies and guitar solos. The latter are an often underrated aspect of the band. While Rossi and Parfitt went on to self-parody, primetime celebrity and OBEs, Lancaster never received the credit and acclaim he deserved for making Status Quo into mainstream blues rock pioneers.

My copy of the album is the Castle Music remaster from 2000, offering four bonuses, beginning with the non-album single, In My Chair, and its jaunty b-side, Gerdundula (which was re-recorded for Dog of Two Head). Down the Dustpipe was written for Status Quo by Australian singer-songwriter Carl Groszman and, released as a non-album single in March 1970, became their first trademark twelve-bar boogie. An alternate mix of Junior's Wailing concludes this configuration of the album and I for one cannot have too many versions of Junior's Wailing. If you can track down the 2003 remaster, there are even more goodies, including a BBC session.


Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon Lineup

Francis Rossi: Guitar, vocals
Rick Parfitt: Guitar, vocals
Alan Lancaster: Bass, vocals
John Coghlan: Drums
Roy Lynes: Organ
Bob Young: Harmonica


Status Quo Discography 1968-1977

Psychedelia
1968 Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo (PYE Records)
1969 Spare Parts (PYE Records)

Transitional
1970 Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon (PYE Records)
1971 Dog of Two Head (PYE Records)

Classic era of blues rock/ boogie
1972 Piledriver (Vertigo)
1973 Hello! (Vertigo)
1974 Quo (Vertigo)
1975 On the Level (Vertigo)
1976 Blue for You (Vertigo)
1977 Rockin' All Over the World (Vertigo)
1977 Live! (Vertigo)


Written in September 2012